Westfield, N.J. Family Has Interesting Solution For Honeybee Infestation

WESTFIELD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A local family that has been bugged by a few bees this summer was shocked to find that tens of thousands of them had made a home in their roof. After discovering their house guests the family decided that they wanted the bees removed, but not killed.

“I saw them flying around outside so we thought it was a small problem that could be taken care of easily. We didn’t have any idea it was gonna be this big of a problem,” Molly Cabral said.

The big problem turned out to be some 60,000 unwanted visitors.

“I’ve never seen so many; first time I’ve ever seen so many in one spot,” Chris Roskowski said.

Roskowski kept his distance and so did the other workers who were putting an extension on the Cabral’s house. The job of removing the bees fell into the hands of professional beekeeper Mickey Hedegus, who was rewarded with 20 bee stings in the process.

“Probably the biggest job I’ve ever done, actually,” Hedegus said. “It was actually a perfect environment for honeybees. There was a small opening to get in and defend and inside was a large cavity.”

Hedegus had to climb up a ladder and vacuum the bees to safely re-hive them somewhere else, CBS 2’s Dave Carlin reported.

With tens of thousands removed, several hundred bees remained on the property but were not expected to hang around for long.

“Bees will only live a few weeks anyway, so they may just live out the rest of their lives in the area on some flowers,” Hedegus said.

Hedegus commended Cabral for deciding to keep the bees alive.

“Wonderful that Molly was able to call me instead of calling an exterminator and we were able to save them,” he said.

Cabral’s daughter was happy with the decision as well.

“The bees are good because they make honey and honey’s good,” 3-year-old Norah said.

The bee colony has been re-hived on church property in Roselle. The congregation said it plans to harvest the honey and beeswax to make candles for church service.